Sufficiently Advanced Magic: Arcane Ascension, Book 1

Five years ago Corin Cadence's brother entered the Serpent Spire - a colossal tower with ever-shifting rooms, traps, and monsters. Those who survive the spire's trials return home with an attunement: a mark granting the bearer magical powers. According to legend, those few who reach the top of the tower will be granted a boon by the spire's goddess. He never returned. Now it's Corin's turn. He's headed to the top floor, on a mission to meet the goddess.

Fortune's Rising: Outer Bounds, Book 1

Under the supertech Coalition government, Fortune's colonists are enslaved to harvest the highly valuable brain-enhancing drug Yolk, often losing their sanity and lives in the process. The population is dying off, and the planet is becoming a police state whose only purpose is to harvest Yolk.

Earthcore

EarthCore is the company with the technology, the resources, and the guts to go after the mother lode. Young executive Connell Kirkland is the company's driving force, pushing himself and those around him to uncover the massive treasure. But at three miles below the surface, where the rocks are so hot they burn bare skin, something has been waiting for centuries. Waiting...and guarding. Kirkland and EarthCore are about to find out first-hand why this treasure has never been unearthed.

Columbus Day: Expeditionary Force, Book 1

The Ruhar hit us on Columbus Day. There we were, innocently drifting along the cosmos on our little blue marble, like the Native Americans in 1492. Over the horizon came ships of a technologically advanced, aggressive culture, and BAM! There went the good old days, when humans got killed only by each other. So, Columbus Day. It fits. When the morning sky twinkled again, this time with Kristang starships jumping in to hammer the Ruhar, we thought we were saved.

Vanguard: The Genesis Fleet, Book 1

Earth is no longer the center of the universe. After the invention of the faster-than-light jump drive, humanity is rapidly establishing new colonies. But the vast distances of space mean that the old order of protection and interstellar law offered by Earth has ceased to exist. When a nearby world attacks, the new colony of Glenlyon turns to Robert Geary, a young former junior fleet officer, and Mele Darcy, a onetime enlisted marine.

Perilous Waif: Alice Long, Book 1

My name is Alice Long, and I've always known I was different. When I was little I used to climb up to the highest branches of the housetree at night, and watch the starships docking at the orbital stations high above. Forty meters off the ground, watching ships 30,000 kilometers overhead, with senses that could pick out radar pings and comm chatter as easily as the ships themselves. It all seemed perfectly natural at the time.

Red Sister: Book of the Ancestor, Book 1

At the Convent of Sweet Mercy, young girls are raised to be killers. In a few the old bloods show, gifting talents rarely seen since the tribes beached their ships on Abeth. Sweet Mercy hones its novices' skills to deadly effect: it takes 10 years to educate a Red Sister in the ways of blade and fist. But even the mistresses of sword and shadow don't truly understand what they have purchased when Nona Grey is brought to their halls as a bloodstained child of eight, falsely accused of murder - guilty of worse.

Old Man's War: Old Man's War, Book 1

At 75 years old, John Perry is after a fresh start - so, naturally, he joins the army. Earth's military machine can transform elderly recruits, restoring their lost youth. But in return, its Colonial Defence Force demands two years of hazardous service in space. This is how Perry finds himself in a new body crafted from his original DNA. A genetically enhanced and upgraded new body, ready for battle. But upgrades alone won't keep Perry safe. He'll be fighting for his life on the front line as he defends humanity's colonies.

We Are Legion (We Are Bob): Bobiverse, Book 1

Bob Johansson has just sold his software company and is looking forward to a life of leisure. There are places to go, books to read, and movies to watch. So it's a little unfair when he gets himself killed crossing the street. Bob wakes up a century later to find that corpsicles have been declared to be without rights, and he is now the property of the state. He has been uploaded into computer hardware and is slated to be the controlling AI in an interstellar probe looking for habitable planets.

The Oncoming Storm: Angel in the Whirlwind, Book 1

In the year 2420, war looms between the galaxy's two most powerful empires: the tyrannical Theocracy and the protectionist Commonwealth. Caught in the middle sits the occupied outpost system Cadiz, where young officer and aristocrat Katherine "Kat" Falcone finds herself prematurely promoted at the behest of her powerful father. Against her own wishes, Kat is sent to command the Commonwealth navy's newest warship, Lightning.

Rebel Fleet

They hunt us. They bomb our worlds for target practice. A star cluster in the constellation of Orion rotates once every thousand years. Those who rule there have an ancient tradition: When each cycle ends, they train their fleets by spilling the blood of lesser beings. The enemy fleets are coming again. In response, the Rebel Worlds gather their starships to face the terrifying threat, and this time humanity is asked to stand with them.

A Learning Experience, Book 1

When a bunch of interstellar scavengers approach Earth intending to abduct a few dozen humans and sell them into slavery in the darkest, they make the mistake of picking on Steve Stuart and his friends, ex-military veterans all. Unprepared for humans who can actually fight, unaware of the true capabilities of their stolen starships, the scavengers rapidly lose control of the ship - and their lives.

The Emperor's Blades: Chronicle of the Unhewn Throne, Book 1

In The Emperor's Blades by Brian Staveley, the emperor of Annur is dead, slain by enemies unknown. His daughter and two sons, scattered across the world, do what they must to stay alive and unmask the assassins. But each of them also has a life-path on which their father set them, destinies entangled with both ancient enemies and inscrutable gods.

The Collapsing Empire: The Interdependency, Book 1

Our universe is ruled by physics, and faster-than-light travel is not possible - until the discovery of The Flow, an extradimensional field we can access at certain points in space-time that transports us to other worlds, around other stars. Humanity flows away from Earth, into space, and in time forgets our home world and creates a new empire, the Interdependency, whose ethos requires that no one human outpost can survive without the others. It's a hedge against interstellar war - and a system of control for the rulers of the empire.

Terms of Enlistment: Frontlines, Book 1

The year is 2108, and the North American Commonwealth is bursting at the seams. For welfare rats like Andrew Grayson, there are only two ways out of the crime-ridden and filthy welfare tenements, where you're restricted to 2,000 calories of badly flavored soy every day. You can hope to win the lottery and draw a ticket on a colony ship settling off-world, or you can join the service. With the colony lottery a pipe dream, Andrew chooses to enlist in the armed forces for a shot at real food, a retirement bonus, and maybe a ticket off Earth.

The Complete Exodus Trilogy: Books 1-3

When an object threatens human civilization, it becomes clear that we need to venture to the stars. With just a few years' warning, this will be a race against time, and only a small number of colonists can be saved. In an America turned authoritarian, a small group of people draws up their plans to change not this world but the next. The confrontation seems inevitable, but who will prevail and at what cost?

Skyborn

The first in an all-new fantasy series from rising star David Dalglish. The last remnants of humanity live on six islands floating high above the Endless Ocean, fighting a brutal civil war in the skies. The Seraphim, elite soldiers trained for aerial combat, battle one another while wielding elements of ice, fire and lightning. The lives of their parents claimed in combat, twins Kale and Breanna Skyborn enter the Seraphim Academy to follow in their footsteps.

Promise of Blood: The Powder Mage Trilogy, Book 1

Field Marshal Tamas' coup against his king sends corrupt aristocrats to the guillotine and brings bread to the starving. But it also provokes war in the Nine Nations, internal attacks by royalist fanatics and greedy scrambling for money and power by Tamas' supposed allies: the Church, workers' unions, and mercenary forces. Stretched to his limit, Tamas relies heavily on his few remaining powder mages, including the embittered Taniel, a brilliant marksman who also happens to be Tamas' estranged son, and Adamat, a retired police inspector whose loyalty will be tested to its limit.

Predator: Incursion: The Rage War, Book 1

Predator ships stream into human space in unprecedented numbers. The Colonial Marines, controlled by Weyland-Yutani, respond to the incursion, thus entering the Rage War. This terrifying assault by the Yautja cannot go unchallenged, yet the cost of combat is high. Predators are master combatants, and each encounter yields a high body count. Then, when Lt. Johnny Mains and his marines - the VoidLarks - enter the fray, they discover an enemy deadlier than any could imagine.

The Last Tribe

Fourteen-year-old Greg Dixon is living a nightmare. Attending boarding school outside of Boston, he is separated from his family when a pandemic strikes. His classmates and teachers are dead, rotting in a dormitory-turned-morgue steps from his room. The nights are getting colder, and his food has run out. The last message from his father is to get away from the city and to meet at his grandparents' town in remote New Hampshire.

Wizard Defiant: Intergalactic Wizard Scout Chronicles, Book 1

Wizard scouts are the elite, deep-recon forces of the Intergalactic Empire. They are a mix of technology and magic-like abilities. Richard has been given a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to become one of these legendary soldiers. All he has to do is make it through the Wizard Scout Academy. But with a TAC officer who hates his guts, will he even be allowed to graduate. To make matters worse, the Empire has been attacked and soon finds itself in a major war.

Pandora's Star

Britain's bestselling SF writer returns to outer space.In AD 2329, humanity has colonised over four hundred planets, all of them interlinked by wormholes. With Earth at its centre, the Intersolar Commonwealth now occupies a sphere of space approximately four hundred light years across. When an astronomer on the outermost world of Gralmond, observes a star 2000 light years distant - and then a neighbouring one - vanish, it is time for the Commonwealth to discover what happened to them.

The Black Prism: Book One of Lightbringer

Gavin Guile is the Prism, the most powerful man in the world. He is high priest and emperor, a man whose power, wit, and charm are all that preserves a tenuous peace. But Prisms never last, and Guile knows exactly how long he has left to live: Five years to achieve five impossible goals. But when Guile discovers he has a son, born in a far kingdom after the war that put him in power, he must decide how much he's willing to pay to protect a secret that could tear his world apart.

Storm Front: The Dresden Files, Book 1

A call from a distraught wife, and another from Lt Murphy of the Chicago PD Special Investigation Unit makes Harry believe things are looking up, but they are about to get worse, much worse. Someone is harnessing immense supernatural forces to commit a series of grisly murders. Someone has violated the first law of magic: Thou Shalt Not Kill. Tracking that someone takes Harry into the dangerous underbelly of Chicago, from mobsters.

Publisher's Summary

The Legend of Zero begins the epic journey of 14-year-old Joe Dobbs in a post-apocalyptic universe following a massive alien invasion of Earth. The oldest of the children drafted from humanity's devastated planet, Joe is impressed into service by the alien Congressional Ground Force - and becomes the unwitting centerpiece in a millennia-long alien struggle for independence.

Once his training begins, one of the elusive and prophetic Trith appears to give Joe a spine-chilling prophecy that the universe has been anticipating for millions of years: Joe will be the one to finally shatter the vast alien government known as Congress. And the Trith cannot lie. But first Joe has to make it through bootcamp.

It mixed elements from some of my favourite stories, Enders Game, Star wars, Star Force and still managed to feel 100% original.

Which character – as performed by Liam Owen – was your favourite?

He gave each character a unique voice that seemed to be just right for the story. It's hard to choose one. <br/><br/>Excellent narration.

Any additional comments?

I emailed Sara King to ask if the other books in the series are going to be converted to audio. <br/><br/>She responded straight away telling me Liam Owen is doing the voice work and they'll be available within the next couple of months.<br/><br/>Loved this book and I'll be getting the next ones in the series the day they're released.

This book does not make any sense the characters motivation thinking and what exactly is going on not well written not well narrated half the time you are confused in why this kids are being like this.. I did not like maybe you might but I doubt it.

Great story with a great voice performance. With that being said there is a chime used in this production that is loud, brash, and terrifying when not expected. The first time it sounded I almost crashed my car. It had the same effect on my wife...

10 of 10 people found this review helpful

Josh

Redmond, WA, United States

21/12/13

Overall

Performance

Story

"Great book that up till recently was Kindle only"

Any additional comments?

I was searching for a military scifi book and came across this book as a new release this week. It only had two reviews that both marked it all 5's and no written reviews so I was pretty skeptical. I decided to look up reviews on Amazon.com and was amazed at the amount of positive reviews for the book. Interestingly enough this book is only available in kindle format, besides audible, no soft or hardcover releases yet.<br/><br/>As for the book please read some of the amazon reviews. As for me I finished the book in one continuous listening. Only a few authors can provoke a response like that from me (Orson Scott Card, Brandon Sanderson, Patrick Rothfuss). I was shocked when I hit part 2 of the book and it was 6am.<br/><br/>The story starts right after Earth is visited and lacking a better word annexed into a large alien "supposedly" republic. As for joining the republic the children of Earth between ages 5 - 12 are forcibly taken at gunpoint from the earth where they will be trained into soldiers for this galactic congress. They are so many interesting parts to the story but it mainly focuses on the children soldiers being trained and the aliens who are training them. Every time I thought I had this book figured out it throws a new curve at you. As an example I find myself at times empathizing with the aliens who at times don't seem to like what they are doing but believe it's for the greater good. Only to then find out they see things totally different from what I expected. The aliens in this book are truly alien in both body and thought process. There not just some humanoid antagonist military that are doing things for reasons we humans would normally consider evil, rather their thoughts and reasonings are just that, alien. You can follow their reasoning up to a certain point, then you get thrown a curve. What's really interesting is that eventually these curves are explained in a way humans can understand without necessarily agreeing with them. This is some of the best alien development I've ever seen in a scifi book. As for the human children think something close to Ender's game without the kids being geniuses. They pought, cry, whine, but it never gets irritating. It really made me think of how when real children experience traumatic things in their lives they are quite resilient. That's not to say the trauma doesn't leave it's scars. With the children in the story, it's just that, they are traumatized but you are with them as that innate human resilience kicks in. You wanna cry for them, cheer them on, and most of all watch them grow. This is a book I probably wouldn't have given a chance but the publisher summary and the reviews on amazon.com convinced me to take a chance and I am so glad that I did.<br/><br/>As far as Narration, this is the first time I've heard Liam Owen. He does a very good job. He's no Stephan Rudniki or Scott Brick but while the voices among the children don't vary to much and with literally hundreds of children that have maybe 1 or 2 speaking lines you can kinda understand why. Yet he does get a lot of variation with the six main children and also he gets in a lot of variation between the different species of aliens speaking and they're a whole lot of different aliens.<br/><br/>I've noticed the volume tends to drift during the performance. Nothing horrible but maybe once a hour or so you find the volume is now to soft to hear or it stars to get uncomfortably loud. As it only happens about once an hour you can easily adjust your volume to deal with it. I have a suspicion that maybe the recording was done using cheaper equipment or maybe at a home studio. As this is the first release of an audio book for this author I believe it's something that can be overlooked. I do hope in time that here books become more well known and the quality of the recordings will improve. Maybe one day she'll be popular enough to have this book re-recorded with a full cast reading like they did for Ender's Game 20th Anniversary Edition. With all that being said I hope that you will give Sara King's "Forging Zero" a try and enjoy it as much as I have.<br/><br/>One last note is that there is already a sequel and a short story prequel to this book but again they are only available currently on Kindle. If you like this book as much as I do please request that audible carry Sara King's sequel/prequel as well as her other works. You can make a content request by emailing audible.com using: content-requests@audible.com Personally I have medical issues that severely limits my ability to read for any extended period and having these books available on audible is a life saver.

39 of 42 people found this review helpful

Andrew Pollack

Cumberland, Maine USA

04/08/15

Overall

Performance

Story

"Production issues and some immaturity but fun"

GACK! Stop with the sound effects, Please! (more on that later)

This is the second Sara King book I've read, and like the first one, I found it very creative, very descriptive, and the prose well constructed. So why isn't it a great book? There's something very amateur about it. There is very little respect for many of the characters. Oh sure the protagonist gets treated with soft gloves, and one or two of the author's favorites are consistent and enjoyable, but the rest are furniture and their personalities change as needed. Like the other King book, this one doesn't shy away from some issues of sex in it's characters -- but also like the other book, much of what is described is painfully juvenile. I would expect scenes like that written by a 14-year-old, not an adult woman.

As to some serious production issues -- although Liam Owen does a solid job and has great range for characters, some of the attempts to add effects to the production were really annoying. They had some kind of bell/tinkle effect between sections, I suppose to signify the change from one section to another as some authors might do with a line of asterisks or something. Not a horrible idea, but it was done much louder than it should have been, out of nowhere and louder than any of the text being read. It was jarring and annoying. The use of sound chamber effects (like an echo chamber) to cover certain things said were more distraction than helpful and were often out of sync. Another production issue is that when the various chapters were patched together, not enough empty space was placed before the new chapter number was read. So the last sentence in one chapter would end, and with almost no pause at all -- not even as much as for a sentence end, suddenly you'd hear, "Chapter 23..." like there wasn't even a period after the last sentence. It was just poorly managed and should be re-done.

15 of 16 people found this review helpful

Jim

Florida

05/05/15

Overall

Performance

Story

"Interesting series, however..."

The story and narrator are good however whoever decided to add a loud Ringtone between sections should be fired. It really distracts from the story flow, especially when you are quietly listening.

3 of 3 people found this review helpful

Michael

US

05/02/14

Overall

Performance

Story

"Unforgettable Classic"

What did you love best about Forging Zero?

I had read the book and thought the story was amazing. It has an Enders Game feel to it. <br/>Earth being overrun, and not even putting up a fight, families fighting back as their kids are taken away...the journey, the training the alien culture.. the idea that the aliens were not all "bad" but they had rich complicated emotions. The sense of suspense. Seriously unforgettable.

Did the plot keep you on the edge of your seat? How?

You kept wondering what was going to happen next? To the kids, to the planet? Unexpected twists where key characters are just....don't want to have spoilers here but it was good!!!

What about Liam Owen’s performance did you like?

Wow, this guys is talented, Really brought passion and feeling to the characters here. Simply amazing.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

It was just an amazing experience, you get so wrapped up you secretly hope the story will never end.

Any additional comments?

Incredible moving experience.

15 of 18 people found this review helpful

Linda Archinal

06/05/14

Overall

Performance

Story

"It is in my top 3-also a fantastic audible book"

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

The story is great (military Sci- Fi at its best) and the narrator is excellent

What was one of the most memorable moments of Forging Zero?

When he made the decision to destroy the resistance - there are other scenes as well

Which character – as performed by Liam Owen – was your favorite?

Joe Dobbs aka Zero

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

The scene in the ship with his neighbor

Any additional comments?

I've listened to it twice which is a first for me. Sara King is now one of my favorite authors and Liam Owen did an amazing job of narration

6 of 7 people found this review helpful

Alan

st george, UT, United States

22/12/13

Overall

Performance

Story

"must listen"

this is a must listen. The inspiration of Enders Game is evident. I have read several ripoffs of enders game and they don't stack up. This however does justice to the child warrior saga.

13 of 16 people found this review helpful

Amazon Customer

Vadnais Heights, MN, United States

12/01/14

Overall

Performance

Story

"Exceptional piece of spellbinding science fiction."

Did the plot keep you on the edge of your seat? How?

A spellbinding piece of fiction with excellent characters, marvelous plot development and superb action and dialogue.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

While work prevents a one sitting listen, I never the less listened continuously as tasks would allow.

Any additional comments?

Looking forward to the next installment; the characters and story hold great possibilities with a superb open set of possible twists and turns.

12 of 15 people found this review helpful

Amazon Customer

30/05/15

Overall

Performance

Story

"Amazing voice actor."

Terrific story . I followed the list of books read by Liam Owen since I enjoy his character creation. I understand the book has a sequel,( not yet on audible) but this story is complete in itself.

2 of 2 people found this review helpful

D. Marie

25/01/15

Overall

Performance

Story

"Held my interest, but sub par production"

Decent story. On the border of YA, but still entertaining. Narrator was talented. My only complaints were the intermittent garish jingle and the inconsistent volume (clearly no one in production cared enough about the author's work to do their due diligence final review). I will certainly be purchasing the sequel, though I won't be waiting with bated breath.

2 of 2 people found this review helpful

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